Foldable boat



Dec. 12, 1950 A. s. CARTER 2,533,220

FOLDABLE BOAT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 9, 1947 A. S. CARTER Dec. 12, 1950 FOLDABLE BOAT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 9, 1947 Q cm QN v Patented Dec. 12, 1950 j smrss XPATEE N I -OF iF lCE ho nABLmnoAzr Austin S." CarterflQhfilhlh WaShvesi-pplioatiold-:1)eccmber 9, 194%7,=:Sea:ia[No3790;64!7

' '4 Claims. G1; 992) i lhis inventiongel-ates :to boats and it is one object of the invention to provide a boat formed withl;:.ss= v o s so .con it uc ed a d smconnected swithfeach othsrtha th seetiqn ma .ie mo :im enter-t nde mps tie {in whi h they {for a bow section. eastern secti n an --a idse. .ti 2. folded @position', i n which-the bow section is -:enclose d betweenathe midesection and the stern :isectionlandethe :boatethus -;reduee d to ;a;compact imass. and. may1be readily transported -;f ro m tone whereit twill every :effectively co,,ver .and shield l the bow'sectionsfrom damage by weather or by "articles which might :otherwise drop into the folded i bow s'ection.

- hnother object of-a-theiinvention. is to provide a cable for bracing :th'e sections :.when :in :the extended position afor "use, said cable extending "fiilol'lg the :keel iof the aboateand "having its ends connected with securing members carried by the -'ste1-n section and the bow asection, .athe securing #-member of the bow sectionrbeingsa lever ipivoted .for movement-into and vout of position: for exert- "ing tightening pull uponthe. cable.

-Ancither object- 0f the invention is to :so mount wthef'cableithat whileiitsziront end will -.be:: released wh'en the boat is foldediit will-remainv in engagement with the .othersections and will be readily accessible*when zthe zsectionsiare to "be secured "in an extended position.

-- Another object of :the invention is ito provide --a- -foldable boat WhiGh'ilS of simplified construc- ;side s of the midsection of the'boat. ends of the bars in are extended downwardly to kEi $13215 asectional .view taken lon udinally through the boat, the dotted lines illustrating the -.manner in which thebow section is moved to=an extended or folded position.

Fig. 4 vis a sectional view upon an enlarged scale Itaken longitudinally through .the boat.

Big. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the boat. Fig. 6 is a side view showing the boat folded. This improved boat may'be formed of wood, metal, or other suitable lmaterialsland has a'bow section I a stern-section,2, and a mid-sectionfl.

. ;-At its-front end the .front section or how section i ;-has the usual. stem 4 and at its rear an'dthe rear section or stern section 2 has-the usual oounter 5. -A -kee1 extends longitudinally oft'the boat midway the width thereof and is .jformedfin sections so that each section of the boat carries :a portion of the keel. There have a'lsoflbeen provided .cross beams "I, certain ones of which are located at ends of the ,mid-section and at the rear end of the bow-section {and the front end of the ,stern section for abutting engagement with each other when {the sections .are in the extended position. The cross beams at the abutting ends of the sections form walls for exclutiing water and preventing the boat from being-fil1ed with water when it is in use and, of course, Lextend upwardly above the water line of the boat. De ks 8 have vbeen provided for the three sections and the stern section has also been shown q formed with cock pits 9 but it will be understood that the decks and the cock pits may be omitted if so desired.

In order to mount the front section I for movement from an extended position in whichit projects forwardly from :the front endofthe mid-section there have been provided armslor hinge bars H! which extend longitudinally .of

the boat and have their rear ends pivoted lto blocks 1 l {secured upon the gunwales at opposite The front formears I2 pivoted topins l4 in'blocksllsat opposite sides of the bowsection of the'boatand :since the blocks l3 'are mounted againstouter side faces of the sides of bow sectionsthist-sectiqn will be located between the bars and maybe lifted as the barsare swung upwardly and drearwardly. During (-this" movement of the bars "the .hOW-SfiCfiOl'lfilSt moves upwardly and thenvrear- -war dly and downwardly to a position .at rest within the midsection @without being inverted. :Qhains 15 which ;;are secured at their ends to the ibarsand to outer faces of qpposites'idesof vtheir)ow seg'ztion assist inisupporting the. rear and et-sh b ws i n-andrPr v nting-e ce veiside play thereof as it is moved to a retracted position or an extended position and in order to brace the bow section against transverse play when in the extended position there has been provided an elongated cleat is mounted upon the deck of the bow section and projecting rearwardly therefrom for engagement in the half-round saddle or seat l'l secured upon the deck of the midsection.

The stem section 2 pivoted to the rear end of the midsection by hinges I8 is secured upon the gunwales of this section and is swung upwardly and forwardly to a folded or retracted position in which it rests in an inverted position upon the retracted bow section. This is shown in Figure 6, and referring to this figure it will be seen that since the bow section is disposed between the midsection and the stern section and the stern section is inverted the bow section will be enclosed by the midsection and the stern section and prevented from being exposed to rain.

The three sections must be firmly held in position to form a serviceable boat when the bow section and the stern sections are extended, and in order to do so there has been provided a cable 19, formed of wire or other suitable material, and this cable extends along the keel of the boat with portions passed through eyes 20 which project downwardly from the keel. pivoted to a bracket 22 projecting rearwardy from the counter and the rear end of the cable is connected with the lower end of plate 2i by a turn buckle 23, a ring 24 being carried by the upper end of the plate and serving as a hand hold which is grasped when the stern section is to be swung forwardly to the folded or retracted position. At its front end the cable carries a clevis 25 provided with a cross pin 25, the clevis being of such size that a lever 21 pivoted to a bracket 28 near the upper end of the stem 4 may be passed found that the cable is not tight enough the lever is swung downwardly to release the cable from pull, the turn buckle tightened, and the lever again swung upwardly to the raised position and if the turn buckle has been suficiently tightened proper pull will be exerted upon the cable. When the boat is to be folded the lever is swung downwardly to release the cable and allow the bow and stern sections to be moved to their retracted or folded positions, but since the cable passes through the guides or eyes 20 it will be held longitudinally of the three sections and may be readily grasped and its clevis engaged with the lever when the boat is to be again used.

'I-Iaving thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A foldable boat comprising a bow section, a stern section, a midsection, said sections having abutting ends provided with cross walls extending above the water line of the boat and serving to exclude water from the boat during use of the boat, hinge bars extending longitudinally of the boat, blocks carried by the bow section and the midsection at opposite sides thereof and to which front and rear ends of the hinge bars are pivoted to mount the. said bars for vertical swine- A plate 2i is 7 ing movement and allow the bow section to be shifted upwardly and then rearwardly and downwardly to a retracted position upon the midsection while remaining upright, hinges pivotally connecting opposite sides of the stern section with the rear end of the midsection and mounting the stern section for vertical swinging movement from an extended position to a retracted and inverted position upon the retracted bow section and together with the midsection enclosing the bow section, a cable extending longitudinally of said sections along the keel of the boat and having its rear end secured at the rear end of the stern section, a clevis at the front end of said cable, a cross pin carried by said clevis, and a lever pivoted to the stem of the bow section for vertical swinging movement and having a bill for engaging the pin when the lever is passed through the clevis and exerting pull to tighten the cable when the lever is swung upwardly to a set position.

2. A foldable boat comprising bow and stern sections and a midsection disposed in end to end relation to each other and having abutting ends provided with water-tight closures, the bow section having a stem at its front end and the stern section having a counter at its rear end, arms having rear ends pivoted at opposite sides of the midsection in spaced relation to front and rear ends thereof and having their front ends formed with downwardly extending ears pivoted to opposite sides of the bow section near the rear end thereof and mounting the bow section for movement upwardly and then rearwardly and downwardly from an extended position to a retracted position at rest upon the midsection, hinges pivotally connecting the front end of the stern section with the rear end of the midsection and mounting the stern for swinging movement upwardly and forwardly to an inverted position over the midsection at rest upon the retracted bow section in covering relation thereto, a bracket carried by and extending rearwardly from counter midway the length of the upper edge thereof, a plate pivoted to said bracket in a vertical position, a ring at the upper end of said plate constituting a hand hold, a bracket pro- J'ecting forwardly from the upper end portion of the stem of said bow section, a lever pivoted to the last mentioned bracket for vertical swinging movement from a lowered position to a raised position and provided with a bill, guides extending downwardly from the said sections and spaced from each other along the keel portion of the boat, a cable threaded through said guides and having its rear portion extending upwardly at the rear end of the stern section and its forward portion extending upwardly along the stem of the bow section, a turn buckle connecting the rear end of said cable with the lower end of said plate, a clevis at the front end of said cable through which said lever is adapted to be passed, and a cross pin carried by said clevis for engagement with the bill of the lever whereby upon swinging the lever upwardly to a raised position pull will be exerted to tighten the cable and brace the said sections against movement towards a retracted position when in an extended position.

3. A foldable boat comprising bow and stern sections and a midsection disposed in end to end engagement with each other when in an extended position, water-tight closures for abutting ends of said sections, bars extending longitudinally of the boat and having their rear ends pivoted to the midsection and their front ends pivoted to the bow section and mounting the bow section for movement upwardly and rearwardly and then downwardly to a retracted position at rest upon the midsection; hinges mounted upon gunwales of abutting ends of the midsection and the stern section and pivotally mounting the stern section for swinging movement upwardly and forwardly to a retracted and inverted position over the midsection in covering and enclosing relation to the retracted bow section, a cable extending along bottoms of said sections longitudinally of the boat and secured at one end to one of the end sections of the boat, a clevis at the other end of said cable, and a lever pivotally mounted upon the other end sections of the boat for vertical swinging movement in position for passing through said clevis and exerting pull when swung upwardly to tighten the cable and thereby brace the said end sections of the boat against movement towards a retracted position.

4. A foldable boat comprising bow and stern and then downwardly to a retracted position at rest upon the midsection, hinges mounted at sides of abutting ends of the stern section and the midsection and pivotally mounting the stern section for vertical swinging movement upwardly and forwardly to a retracted and inverted position over the midsection in covering and enclosing relation to the retracted bow section, and means for releasably securing said bow section and said stern section in the extended positions in which they have abutting engagement with the midsection.

AUSTIN S. CARTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 624,375 Osmond May 2, 1899 842,349 Skene Jan. 29, 1907 1,462,800 Clemmer July 24, 1923 1,549,153 Scheff Aug. 11, 1925 1,781,860 Reese Nov. 18, 1930 2,120,627 Raymer June 14, 1938 2,129,788 Scruggs :Sept. 13, 1938 2,457,010 Thedick Dec. 21, 1948 

